Summer's Over

I hate for my first real post to be a downer, but alas -- summer is over and it's time to get back to work. Of course, as many of you have heard me complain, this summer was just as busy as the fall and spring semesters. I'll work on that next year. Following that grand back-to-school tradition I present, What I Did On My Summer Vacation!

While I was busy this summer, I did sneak in a quick version of my annual minor league baseball trip. This year was a little different as I had a traveling companion -- Thailand Jeff. I was a little worried since I'd never taken anyone on this trip with me and I just wasn't sure that the simple beauties and pleasures of small town baseball would be immediately obvious to someone else, but I think it went okay. At least he didn't sneak away in the dead of night and catch a bus back to Alabama. Okay that might not be proof that he was having a good time, but I've got low evidentiary standards. Regardless, ...

This year's trip hit a lot of the familiar spots, but we did visit one new (to me) park. The first night of our trip we saw the Greeneville (TN) Astros. The Greenville baseball experiment is kind of interesting. They just got a team a couple of years ago when they lured the Astros from Martinsville, VA. If you've ever been to Greeneville, though, you know that it's not a booming metropolis. Of course this is rookie league baseball, but they still needed a way to support the team. I've done a good bit of research into the economics of minor league baseball and their solution strikes me as pretty good. Essentially they formed a partnership with Tusculum College and built a pretty nice facility on campus for use by both teams. Smart, huh? Evidently this is a growing trend, at least in the low minors, as they mentioned Penn State is looking to do the same thing. Hmm, might be a research paper out of that? Oh, I forgot to mention, we got to see one of Roger Clemens' kids (I don't remember which K it was) playing for the Astros. My judgment -- I hope the kid can hit.

Once we left Greeneville, we headed over to Asheville, NC. Every time I go to Asheville I discover all over again just how much I like that town. If you haven't been, go. It's worth it. I've never been to Asheville's premier establishment (the Biltmore). Y'all know me; I'd never pay the million $ admission fee to see a big house. Still, there's PLENTY to do in Asheville. If you have an aversion to the hippie culture, though, take lots of pepper spray. They are there in force. Seeing all the counter-culture types there reminded me once again just how much work one has to put into looking like a non-conformist. Still, it's a lovely town. Check out Asheville. I recommend seeing the Asheville Tourists (of course) and a trip to Barley's Taproom. Plus, there are scads of used bookstores there. Oh, and good coffee. What more could one ask for?

After Asheville, we headed up to VA and WV. I think southwestern WV may be the prettiest country around. I know WV has a bad reputation, but I enjoy my visits there. We saw a couple of games in that area (Bluefield, WV and Pulaski, VA). What I like most about these teams is that the towns are so small that the ball game is THE ENTERTAINMENT for the town. Especially in Bluefield you see lots of old couples who come out to the ballpark just to visit and catch up. Maybe they show up to keep folks from thinking they've died and been eaten by their cats. Regardless, they show up and they have a good time.

I once had a long conversation with a former high school math teacher at the Bluefield park. Since I like to keep score at games and I usually have my "scoring bag" with spare scorecards, baseball references, etc. with me, it's fairly common for folks to think I have some affiliation with a professional baseball team. This happens a lot. Anyway, that's what the guy in Bluefield thought and he asked me if I was there to "rate" the players. I told him that I was not, that I was, in fact, merely there to enjoy the game. For some reason, however, that message didn't get through. For the rest of the game this guy kept telling me how hard these kids played and how I really shouldn't be too hard on them in my report. Finally, I just had to tell him that I'd try to be as generous as possible in my evaluation of the team. Again, stuff like this happens a lot. Those of you who know me well (and why would you be reading this otherwise?) are not at all surprised that I have encounters with strange folks while on vacation. It happens at home, why not in other states? Thailand Jeff must have been some kind of buffer on this trip; we didn't have any weirdo encounters.

Okay, this is getting kind of long, so I'll try to wrap up. Briefly, ... We saw games in Bluefield, WV (hometown of John Nash -- Beautiful Mind was based on a biography of him) and Pulaski, VA (no claim to fame that I know of) and we spent most of a day in Charleston, WV. Like Asheville, I also enjoy spending time in Charleston. Lots of people like Charleston, but for most it's SC not WV. I'm sure Charleston, SC is a wonderful place, but the WV one has a lot to offer too. They've got a wonderful new downtown ballpark (sort of like Chattanooga or Montgomery) and I really like the Capitol Market. I'm still amazed that you can park, walk in, and wander around the state capitol and you never have to pass through a metal detector or even be cleared by an 80-year-old security guard. Seriously, it's just open to the public and it really is a beautiful building -- well, except for the grand statue of Robert Byrd that you'll find inside, but I just have to grit my teeth and pretend to ignore homages to him anywhere I go in that state. Really, though, you have to go through a metal detector and pass 4 or 5 guards to get in the Morgan County Courthouse, but you can wander all around the WV state capitol (even going into the legislative chambers, when not in use) without so much as a sign in sheet. Go figure.

Okay, that's it for today. What I did on my summer vacation. Thanks for reading (assuming you've made it this far). They'll be shorter in the future. Oh, I almost forgot a highlight of any trip to WV -- the New River Gorge Bridge. It really is that spectacular!